Shortbread Cookies with Jam

These shortbread cookies with jam have been one of my favorite for a very long time. I really don’t know what not to like about them. They taste super, melt in your mouth, have a drop of chewy jam in the middle, and can be made in 25 minutes. Even 20 if you try hard enough. Serious. That is, of course, if your oven can get pre-heated in 1o minutes. I imagine gas ovens can do that very quickly, but I can only speculate.

Anyway, the process is super simple. First, soften your butter in a microwave, then mix it with powdered sugar, then add the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly. That’s it. This recipe, unlike classic shortbread recipes, makes use of an egg white. This is necessary to soften the dough so that it can be piped easily.

Pipe the cookies onto a baking sheet, put a drop of jam in the middle and bake. Any jam will do, as long as it is thick and doesn’t spread out quickly. Thick jam will thicken even more in the oven and will become slightly chewy – I love that. Alternatively, a more runny type of jam can be thickened with 1/2 teaspoon of cornstarch to 1 tablespoon of jam.

Gelatin or any other thickening agent will also do. If you don’t have any of those handy, there is another simple method – heat a tablespoon or two of jam in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, constantly stirring, until the desired thickness is achieved. Actually, you can also make some jam very quickly, too. Place a handful of berries, or sliced apples, or any other fruit in a sauce pan, add 1-2 tablespoons of sugar an heat over medium-low heat, constantly stirring for about 15 minutes, until it thickens. There is nothing like homemade jam.

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21 comments

B. KingsburyDecember 21, 2018 - 4:55 pm

I was addicted to Mrs. Allison’s jelly top cookie, was thrilled to see this! I followed the directions, even using a scale for make sure I didn’t mess it up. Well, they turned out too thick to use a freezer zipper bag to squeeze out like yours. I even bought cherry fruit spread, preserves looked too chunky. Not very flavorful, Very disappounted. Was thinking I’d be making my favorite cookie!

Ok thanks! I’ll give it a try. I see now in your narrative description of the recipe above that after mixing sugar/butter, you add the rest of the ingredients all at once and mix. I’ll try it that way next time. I added the egg whites and whipped until homogeneous— similar to the Russian recipe.

I’m addicted to the honey mustard chicken now as well. Looking forward to trying more and more. Thank you for sharing!

Hello! Wondering if you could provide more details on mixing? Did you use an electric mixer? How long did you mix? Asking because my dough was a little hard to pipe. I may have damaged my fingers 🤣. I did make a dbl batch. I mixed in the egg whites well, thinking this might provide extra stability? Might try more butter/sugar and less flour next time. They are good but I wanted more meltiness. Thank you Victor!

Sorry to hear that. These should not spread out, so I assume something went wrong along the process. This recipe is not the typical American type shortbread, it’s an adaptation of European style shortbread cookies which are less sweet and less fatty. The addition of jam adds the flavor. These cookies are widely made and sold in Eastern Europe, and I think the origin is France. I wouldn’t call it a bland cookie, it’s just a different kind of a shortbread cookie.

It’s actually very easy. One ounce equals approximately 28 grams. Or you can use an online converter.

You may also be able to switch to grams on your kitchen scale. I have two kitchen scales, both have grams and ounces. I like grams as they are easier to work with. For example, 2 grams = 0.071 ounces. You can see how grams can be easier to measure. That’s why baker’s percentages for bread formulations are most of the time expressed in grams, not in ounces.

Karen, there is absolutely nothing wrong with experimenting and changing recipes to suit your persona taste – I do it all the time. That said, I think whole nuts or chocolate chips will be wonderful substitutions for jam in this recipe.